USHL Recognizes Waterloo Black Hawks Standouts

Three Waterloo Black Hawks players were named to the United States Hockey League’s All-USHL First and Second Teams, the league revealed on Tuesday.

Forward Jackson Cates and defenseman Ben Finkelstein drew recognition on the First Team. Jack Drury claimed a place on the Second Team. In addition, Drury was also selected as a member of the league’s All-Academic Team.

The honors for Cates and Finkelstein come one day after the USHL revealed that they were respectively the 2018 Forward of the Year and Defenseman of the Year.

Cates is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Spending his second season in Waterloo, he led the Hawks in goals (33) and shots (195), while finishing among the Hawks’ top producers of assists (30, third), points (63, second), power play goals (10, second), and game-winning goals (five, tied for second). Cates was particularly prolific during February, when he recorded at least one point in nine of ten appearances, racking up a total of 11 goals and six assists during the shortest calendar month of the year.

Finkelstein made his USHL debut on January 19th, with the Hawks more than halfway through their schedule. He recorded a power play goal that night on the road against the Lincoln Stars, starting a roll which included 34 points in just 23 games. Half of that scoring came during power play situations. From Finkelstein’s arrival through the end of the regular season, Waterloo climbed from fifth to second in power play conversion percentage, finishing the year at 23.6 percent. Next season, Finkelstein will play for Boston College.

Drury, Waterloo’s captain, is committed to Harvard. From November 22nd through February 16th, he recorded at least one point each time he was in the lineup, amassing the USHL’s longest point streak of the season at 23 games. The 32 points recorded in that time represented nearly half of his team-leading total (65). Drury finished fourth in league scoring and currently ties for top Waterloo honors with four playoff points (tied with Finkelstein). Last month, Drury was ranked among the top 30 North American skaters (27th) eligible for the 2018 NHL Draft by NHL Central Scouting.